Jennifer Gish: Runners ready for long-distance relationship

Jennifer Gish

Updated 6:21 am, Thursday, February 27, 2014

That's our problem. It's gotten so bad that a local die-hard triathlete was lamenting on Facebook recently that the Iron Man — a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run — just isn't challenging anymore. Yawn.

Once the racing season gets going — and we can't wait until it gets going, since the Runnin' of the Green (Island), the first major road race of the season on March 15, closed out registration in less than two days — you can take your pick of 5Ks. There's a minimum of one a weekend during the warm months and a maximum of, oh, 72.

But there's a group of runners that considers a 5K a warm-up. And with all the 5K training programs available in the region, which take people from their couch to the finish line of their first road race within a couple months, new runners are born every day. And the thing about running is you turn into a walking Olympic motto — faster, higher, stronger — and suddenly you're training for a 10K and then a half marathon, and after you vow it certainly will stop there, you're six weeks deep into your full marathon training program, making small talk about energy gels and your balky piriformis muscle.

It's easy finding races when it comes to 3.1 miles. There's so much variety. You can choose to run over inflatable obstacles (Insane Inflatable 5K coming to Ballston Spa) or get blasted by bombs of colored cornstarch (Color Me Rad in Altamont). You'll have a tougher time finding as many longer-distance races in the Capital Region. But it's clear we love them. The Stockade-athon, a 15K (9.3 miles), drew more than 1,800 finishers last year. The Troy Turkey Trot 10K had a record-setting 1,500 runners in 2013. The Mastodon Challenge, a 15K (and a 5K) in Cohoes slated for May 10 is in its third year. And then there's the area's most beloved 13.1-mile race, the Mohawk Hudson River Half Marathon, which filled up in six days last fall. So decide now, because 2014 registration for both the half and the full race opens March 1, and then pounce. There's also always the Saratoga Palio, a popular half marathon held in the fall in Saratoga Springs, which brought in close to 1,500 finishers in 2013.

"I think that the need or the wish is out there, particularly for the 10K," says Maureen Cox, president of the Hudson Mohawk Road Runners Club, which has more than 3,000 members and sponsors the Oct. 12 Mohawk Hudson River Half Marathon and the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon, which has been highlighted repeatedly in Runner's World for being a good Boston Marathon qualifier. "People like those races as trainer races to build toward the bigger events. So personally, I've heard people say, 'We wish there were more of those events out there.' "

During the first running boom in the 1970s and '80s, 10Ks and even 30Ks (18.6 miles) were common distances, says George Regan, race director for the Troy Turkey Trot and the Freihofer's Run for Women, an all-female 5K that used to be a 10K. Those fell out of fashion in the more recent running resurgence when 5Ks became popular for both runners and charities using them as fundraisers. But our need to really stretch our legs is burning. Since 2003, the half marathon has been the fastest growing road race distance in the United States, reports Running USA, a nonprofit organization that promotes distance running and tracks trends. According to its data, "(For) seven consecutive years (2006-12), the number of 13.1-mile finishers has grown by 10 percent or more each year. No other U.S. road distance comes close to this growth rate during the Second Running Boom." Running USA says that "second running boom" stepped off around 1994.

But the problem with staging longer-distance races is the cost and logistics, say both Regan and Cox. You have to close down a lot of roads to make a half marathon or marathon course, which is a big ask of most municipalities. You have to have plenty of volunteers or paid personnel on hand to run the medical tents, manage water stops and direct traffic, among other tasks, and it adds up. And your course has to be big enough to handle the crowds. Runners hate to get bottlenecked on a narrow street, which is why registration has to be capped for many area events. The Mohawk Hudson half and full marathons easily could draw more people, but they're trying to maintain a pleasant race experience and a hometown feel.

That isn't stopping new races from joining the local calendar. Fleet Feet Sports will host its second annual 10K on Mother's Day weekend. The SPAC Rock N Run in Saratoga Springs, which used to be only a 5K, added a 10K race last year because people were clamoring for it, says Saratoga Performing Arts Center action council liaison Linda Deschenes.

And on May 17, John Guastella, who also directs the Our Towne Bethlehem Turkey Trot, will hold the first The Our Towne Bethlehem Half Marathon. He hasn't advertised the race yet but says more than 70 people already are registered.

"What we're doing with this is, there is no early (season) half-marathon race in the area, and so a lot of folks have asked if we could do something a little bit longer," he says. (There is the Jog 4 Jugs Half Marathon in Duanesburg on May 10.) "I went from nothing to doing a 5K then doing a half marathon, then biking, then I went all the way up to Iron Man and then back down. It's addictive after a while. ... The potential is huge, huge, for around here to have those kinds of things."

He's right about the potential, say those of us who are always testing ours. So organize those long-distance road races, and we'll come with our strong piriformis muscles and energy gels, ready for the challenge. Then we'll ask for more.